Lincoln Club Roadster

Henry Ford purchased Henry Leland’s Lincoln Motor Company in 1922. The Lincoln car became the flagship of his empire, its fortunes entrusted largely to his only son, Edsel. Lincoln’s sales were never immense, but its prestige was an asset, particularly after Edsel’s fine eye for design did away with the perpendicular Leland-era bodies. Even Lincoln’s factory bodies bore the influence of Edsel’s eye and tended to have sporting lines and adopt the features currently being introduced on the custom cars of the period.

The Club Roadster is an excellent example in that the body lines and belt moldings are rather rakish for the period. The top shows the compact design and level folding ability that was de rigeur for Waterhouse, Brunn and others. During the days of Leland Lincoln, the designs tended towards conservatism, as did the styles, with far more five- and seven-passenger cars built than the more sporting styles. By 1929, however, Lincoln offered a range of sporting bodies designed to appeal to a younger and more modern crowd. Among them was the Club Roadster for Lincoln, actually a convertible coupe with roll-up windows. Quite popular as factory designs go, it was produced for 30 months from January 1928, with 225 built in all.

This car was auctioned off by RM Auctions in July of 2011 at The Inn at St. John's, Plymouth, Michigan.